Minneapolis to Seattle

Hello all and thank you in advance for your insight and advice.

I am moving from Minneapolis to Seattle in mid April for my new job. I wanted to seek advice on safe and efficient routes out there to reduce snow weather mountain driving and mountain driving in general. I have a Subaru Impreza so at least I have AWD. I’m expect to be stopping for atleast a night or two somewhere allowing the trip some flexible depending on weather or whatever variables affect the trip however wanting to make the trip as short as possible with safety in mind.

Any advice would be appreciated. And any thoughts on a reasonable amount of time it would take to drive there would be appreciate it. I don’t plan to make stops for leisure as I will also be driving with pets and just want to get to the destination.

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

It's a little hard to take your concerns about safety and efficiency seriously when you state that you plan to drive over 1,600 miles in just two days. If that's the case, then weather and mountains are the least of your problems. Driving back-to-back days of 800+ miles is as unsafe and inefficient as it's possible to get. For this trip you just need to follow a few simple yet critical rules...

1) Plan on covering NO MORE than 550 miles per day, especially when traveling with pets. Trying to do more will just leave you exhausted and a danger to yourself and others.

2) Know where you're gong to spend your nights and make reservations. This will help you to avoid the temptation to push on 'just a little bit farther', and ensure that you have a place to stop in the emptiness of the northern Great Plains.

3) Stick to Interstates if at all possible. They are the safest roads and get the first and best attention in the event of inclement weather.

4) Be ready and have a back-up plan for if and when things go awry. They often do.

For the record, if you take the shortest all-Interstate route, I-94 to I-90, the two (minimum) overnight stopping places I'd recommend are Dickinson ND and Deer Lodge MT.

AZBuck

Thanks for your response. Sorry I didn’t clarify. I planned on stopping at least one night but trying to let my trip be flexible depending on various factors, which is why I had also asked how long people think this trip would take. I am trying to find a companion to help me drive there but right now I only have my father to help and that concerns me as he is older, shouldnt drive at night, and has not driven on snowy mountains in decades. I don’t plan on driving the whole trip myself in 2 days. So based on this added info, do you have other advice? I do want to make the trip as short as possible with safety in mind, since I have pets with me. I’ve never driven out west and have only flown which is why I’m on this forum seeking advice on what the roads could be like at this time of year

I’ve updated the original thread to add some clarity

It is simply unsafe to try to make this drive in two days. Period. It doesn't matter if you have one extra driver or four, trying to cover over 800 miles a day is unsafe. If you were a professional long-haul trucker, what you propose would be illegal as well as unsafe. All time in a moving vehicle is draining and what 'rest' you might get when not driving is worse than useless as it would just give you a false sense of being refreshed. I gave you the best advice I could in my initial response.

Also, as a courtesy to those who respond to you and others who read your posts, please do not edit your posts after they have been responded to.

AZBuck

Hello again, I completely understand your point and, again, am not suggesting of doing something that wreckless. I am in the initial stages of planning this trip with little information that I have so far on what to expect which is why I’m on this forum seeking insight and advice with an open mind and flexibility. Hoping to refine my trip by asking people of experience, like you. As you have already reiterated, it’s dangerous to plan to drive that much in one go. I was never set on this being a 2 day drive and threw that number out there preliminarily and I’m sorry that is what you are stuck on with your responses. The number of drivers is not intended to reduce the number of days but to ease the trip all together.

As you have essentially repeated your advice, I will assume you don’t have much more to offer me. Thank you for your time but please do not assume I’m naive and stupid when I have already taken the step almost 2 months in advance to seek information on this forum to improve my knowledge and adjust my trip more realistically.

- - - Updated - - -

And I apologize for editing my post. I didn’t know it was not courteous and a big deal.

No problem.

3 days via I-94 to I-90. Overnights as recommended by AZBuck. Have a 4th day available in case you do encounter adverse conditions. Not terribly likely in mid-April but is possible.

Alternate for second night is Butte or Missoula, more likely to find pet-friendly hotels.

Thank you, all of this has been helpful.

My take is 3-1/2 days of travel. That is 3 nights on the road plus a half-day driving which is great in that you will not arrive to Seattle during rush hour.

This based on Google Maps data of 24 hours of driving for the I-90/I-94 route. I added 20 percent to Google's estimate because Google does not stop for gas fill-ups, restroom stops and minding the pets. A small walk around a rest area stretches the legs and refreshes the body and mind. That would be about 475 miles for 3 days and 240 on the final day.

If still in the cold months of the year try not to stop overnight in Butte. It is a low valley and night time lows can be more than 10 degrees colder than any other stopping place. That matters when temps are in the vicinity of 0F.

Ron,

That is a good point. I like Butte -- but it does get a tad chilly in the winter!

Mark